COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP OF RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Description

The Community Action Partnership of Riverside County is a member of a national network of over 1100 agencies across the US, in the Carribbean and the Pacific trust territories which were established under the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson for the purpose of eradicating poverty by removing barriers and enabling the poor in the pursuit of economic security.

The local model is a public entity which was designated an anti-poverty agency in July, 1979 to serve the low income residents of Riverside County. CAP Riverside is governed by the Board of Supervisors and administered by a tripartite Community Action Commission comprised of primaries and alternates of 1/3 low income sector, 1/3 public sector and 1/3 private sector representation.

Having cautioned the Board of Supervisors against building another large county bureaucracy and maintaining a small catalytic agency, CAP Riverside relies on partners, volunteers and in-kind services to augment it’s 40 member staff and to serve the vast county which runs 250 miles from Orange County to the Arizona border.

In 2003, the Board of Supervisors adopted a vision of ending poverty in Riverside County and CAP Riverside was awarded the prestigious national " Award for Excellence" in 2005. Some of CAP’s core values include:

1. Education is the surest pathway out of poverty
2. Access--No one should be disadvantaged by where they live
3. Cooperate, support community organizations and share the wealth
4. Enable the poor to speak to power in their own behalf